FAQ

Are you anti-employer??

No. We are looking to create discussion about what makes a good job. Service industry jobs can and should be good jobs. We are bringing our voices together to challenge our society to support service industry workers, end stigma, and help fight for living wages, good benefits, and human rights.

What if I like my job?

Some service-kitchen-retail businesses treat their workers with dignity, and these employers wish they could pay more wages. In these cases, we want to hear about what makes a job like this a good job. Your photos and text could also focus on your hobbies, passions, or other work that your job helps you be able to do. We still urge you to explore and admit any negatives, such as low pay, or lack of benefits.  We seek balance and authenticity most of all. 

What if I don't like my job?

Some businesses treat their workers like replaceable pawns, and some can afford to pay their workers more but don't. We hear stories of wage theft, and other abuses. We want to hear about this too. We plan to use this exhibit to break stigmas, and bring dignity to working people. In this case, it would be great to hear some positives too, but maybe for you the positives are about other areas of your life. What are your hobbies? Where did you grow up? What do you hope to do in the future? What kinds of things do you consider your strengths?

What counts as service industry?

Kitchen-service-retail is our current way of thinking of it. These definitions are open for interpretation and expansion. Let us know if you have questions.

What if I am a small business owner who cares about workers' rights? I am struggling to survive too. Can I take some photos from my perspective ?

Sorry, but no. We are looking to hear the voices of workers themselves. However, if you support this project, we encourage you to partner with us in other ways.  We welcome food or appreciation gifts for participants, discounted photo printing, venues to host our events, or help finding fiscal sponsors, so that we can repeat this project with more groups of people in the future. 

What are the risks?

DO NOT take identifying pictures inside your workplace for use for this exhibit. If you take photos in the workplace you are risking your job. We will also not publish these kinds of photos. Make sure no logos or easily identified work uniforms are visible in your photos.

Do what you are comfortable with. We will accept submissions without your name attached, and we will honor your requests to remain anonymous. We will only put your name on your work after getting your permission to do so. We may use anonymous images for flyers, social media (Facebook), classroom use, and other places that we are trying to share about our project. When we do this, we may identify you as a “service industry worker” or something generic like that. We will still check with you before we do so. 

I want to make a difference, but I am not sure I am experienced enough. 

We urge you to become an advocate. We won't be as effective if we don't have service workers joining these conversations. Your experience with your work and your life is all the experience you need. We will support you and help you develop new skills so that you feel confident sharing your story in public. The skills we teach in our workshop may also help you in the future with employment and advocating for your rights in other situations. We plan to bring this exhibit to policymakers, educators, and public spaces. We also hope to take it to social justice conferences, film festivals, or anywhere else we feel is relevant.  This is going to be fun, exciting, and challenging, and we invite you to join us!

What should I take pictures of?

This project is a “photovoice” project. If you google “photovoice” you can find lots of great examples to help you get started. Otherwise, think about your hobbies, your family, your commute.. things that are affected by your job. We are happy to help you brainstorm.

More about us:

Www.goodjobsmissoula.org

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